Text Completion
Description
Skilled readers do not simply absorb the information presented on the page; instead, they maintain a constant attitude of interpretation and evaluation, reasoning from what they have read so far to create a picture of the whole and revising that picture as they go. Text Completion questions test this ability by omitting crucial words from short passages and asking the test taker to use the remaining information in the passage as a basis for selecting words or short phrases to fill the blanks and create a coherent, meaningful whole.
Question Structure
- Passage composed of one to five sentences
- One to three blanks
- Three answer choices per blank (five answer choices in the case of a single blank)
- The answer choices for different blanks function independently; i.e., selecting one answer choice for one blank does not affect what answer choices you can select for another blank
- Single correct answer, consisting of one choice for each blank; no credit for partially correct answers
Sample Questions
For each blank select one entry from the corresponding column of choices.Fill all blanks in the way that best completes the text.
1. It is refreshing to read a book about our planet by an author who does not allow facts to be (i)__________[blank] by politics: well aware of the political disputes about the effects of human activities on climate and biodiversity, this author does not permit them to (ii)__________[blank] his comprehensive description of what we know about our biosphere. He emphasizes the enormous gaps in our knowledge, the sparseness of our observations, and the (iii)__________[blank], calling attention to the many aspects of planetary evolution that must be better understood before we can accurately diagnose the condition of our planet.
| Blank(i) |
Blank(ii) |
Blank(iii) |
| (A) overshadowed |
(D) enhance |
(G) plausibility of our hypothesis |
| (B) invalidated |
(E) obscure |
(H) certainty of our entitlement |
| (C) illuminated |
(F) underscore |
(I) superficiality of our theories |
The correct answer is choice A (overshadowed), choice E (obscure) and choice I (superficiality of our theories).
2. Vain and prone to violence, Caravaggio could not handle success: the more his (i)__________[blank] as an artist increased, the more (ii)__________[blank] his life became.
Table with vertical lines between columns.
| Blank(i) |
Blank(ii) |
| (A) temperance |
(D) tumultuous |
| (B) notoriety |
(E) providential |
| (C) eminence |
(F) dispassionate |
The correct answer is choice C (eminence) and choice D (tumultuous).
3. In parts of the Arctic, the land grades into the landfast ice so _______[blank] that you can walk off the coast and not know you are over the hidden sea.
Table with vertical lines between columns.
| Blank(i) |
| (A) permanently |
| (B) imperceptibly |
| (C) irregularly |
| (D) precariously |
| (E) slightly |
The correct answer is choice B (imperceptibly).